Primer

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Don’t even attempt to figure out the details of the plot. Just watch it, and take it at face value. The alternative is a trip down a mobius hole that bends back upon itself and leaves you forever falling. You could spend more time reading about the plot than actually watching the movie. So, what does that say?

As for that plot? A couple guys invent a time machine, and use it to go back 1 day and make stock trades. Of course, it’s never that simple, and before long, there are overlapping trips back 2 days, 3… with careful scheming to make everything work just so. All the while, the protagonists are startlingly un-confused… and in fact, not terribly interested – like a couple of slackers who can’t seem to see beyond their own trivial lives.

The Parent Trap (1998)

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Not that there’s ever any doubt of what’ll happen. And not that there’s any deep meaning to be gained… but, if you’re stuck in a hotel room, and it’s either this or infomercials for the latest amazing cleaning product, it’s a winner.

For me, at least one interesting aspect was comparing this movie against the original with Haley Mills. But I suppose that’s like comparing Trix vs. Capt’n Crunch. It’s all just a bunch of sugar-coated fluff-balls.

North Face

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Ok, well here’s a decent climbing movie. The details are done just right, and there’s no Hollywood ending to mess with what is a portrayal of  a true story (about an attempted climb of the north face of The Eiger). You don’t have to be a climber to appreciate the drama here. But, if you’ve at least spent some time in places like this, you’ll have a deep appreciation & perhaps a deeper chill in your bones.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version)

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Pretty well done. I’m not sure why they felt it necessary to remake this in English (ok, I do know – Americans are lazy, and don’t like to read subtitles), I mean I’m not sure how it could be very much better. I remember when the American version came out, it was all marketed as if it were the first version. Huh? Anyway… the story & suspense here is good, at least right up to the end. In the end, why does it always have to be some psychotic super-killer?.. and the re-appearance of someone long thought dead?

Animal Crackers

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Boy… comedy has come a long way. I know people get all nostalgic for these old zany comedies, and they are fun to watch simply as a historical exercise, if nothing else. But, as for the actual funniness of it? Uh… I just don’t know. Maybe I’m just guilty of applying my 21st century sensibilities, but watching Harpo Marx stalk and attempt to rape some hapless girl made me cringe, not chuckle.

Anyway, the basic plot device of the stolen and re-stolen painting was sort-of funny… and I think with a little work, there’s something that’d um… work for today’s audience there. There are some funny nuggets sprinkled throughout. But mostly, I feel a bit sad for our lost innocence – oh for the days when it was good enough to watch a bunch of adults being goofy on screen.

Dark Shadows

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Having never watched the old Dark Shadows TV show, I can only take this movie at its face value. It was at its best when it focused on the characters… and at those times, it was fine. But, when it delved into big hollywood action? It just didn’t seem to fit. Perhaps it would have been better to just mock the action it was trying to portray – like having part of the set fall over or something.. you know, break that 4th wall?

Also, the end was just silly – the girl is a werewolf? It’s just needless over-the-top idiocy that detracts from the rest of it. I mean, I realize the whole endeavor was supposed to be silly… but that bit just didn’t make sense. The character didn’t need to be a werewolf; it completely changed the movie.

But, it had its moments, and for that, it’s worth watching if you’re into this sort of thing.

The Three Stooges

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Listen up, knuckleheads… If you didn’t like this movie, you’re beyond help.

This movie just about perfectly succeeded in what it set out to do – bring Moe, Larry and Curly back to life just as we left them. It even comes with a completely inane plot. That was the entire point – of course it was stupid. That’s where the humor is, duh. It was just that kind of thing that made the original Stooges shorts so endearing; it was all so preposterous, one couldn’t help but laugh. Beyond that, I’ll just have to say that the physical humor of the Stooges – the pokes, the hits, the slips, etc. (both in the original and in this re-creation) was like dance or poetry… an art form completely unique to these three men. Sometimes, we just need to drop all our pompousness, and laugh at absurdity. And laugh I did!

Control

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I was always fascinated with the story of Joy Division, and specifically Ian Curtis – their singer who hung himself the night before they were set to go on their first US tour… just as the band was set to make a big splash. If you listen to Joy Division’s music, and then hear what happened, it’s not terribly shocking. Many of their best songs are just what you might imagine listening to as you sunk into bottomless despair. That emotion had to come from somewhere.

I can’t imagine this movie could have been done much better. It’s in black and white, which fits perfectly. It’s well directed, well written, and well acted. Ian is presented not as some kind of larger-than-life genius, but simply troubled and young; which I imagine was close to reality. Perhaps my only gripe with the movie, is that for all his troubles, he (the character in the movie) seemed rather happy-go-lucky, and somewhat together. The movie didn’t give me a sense that things were spinning out of control… then, they did.  But, maybe that’s how these things go… and I can’t complain much about it.

War Horse

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This is about as you’d expect… right down to the ultra-earnest warble of the lead character. Mostly, the movie sticks to the good-hearted, aw-shucks kind of themes… but now and then, it does veer into the real ugliness of war. Of course, you can guess the ending before you even sit down to watch it. So, is it good? Worth watching? you probably already know what this movie is like, so if you like that kind of thing… you’ll like it. If you think it’s going to be too sappy for your tastes, you’re probably right too.

Rango

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This is one I liked more and more as it went along… It kept the entire story at a high-level… I rarely had the notion that I was watching a “kids movie”. The thing even starts off with a character being eaten. Other characters die along the way too; no kid gloves with this one! That’s part of what keeps it so engaging – you truly don’t know what’s going to happen next – anyone is fair game.

I also appreciated the way Rango didn’t have to start off as some wimp who finds his strength (which is a total cliche). Instead, he’s such a prodigious liar, the lie starts to become the truth. What a refreshing twist.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

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Jiro has devoted his life to being perfect at what he does. It so happens that what he does is make sushi. It can make you wonder though; is the purpose of our lives really to excel at a skill? To what end? I suppose that is one way to make the world a better place… to have a positive impact.

Anyway, the movie was fun to watch (a little repetitive at times – I mean, how many ways can you say someone’s sushi is great via the medium of film?), and an interesting study of a man who seems equal measures of humble and tyrannical.

Mirror Mirror

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The latest take on Snow White… and not bad, really. Yes, it was at times corny and predictable, with silly stuff targeted at kids, and cliched moments, etc… But, it did have its moments. The best bits were the costumes. One distracting thing however… throughout most of the movie the whole kingdom is covered in icy snow, yet nobody is cold – even when walking around with no clothes on. Hello? Was everyone involved in this movie born and raised in Southern California, and clueless as to what cold “is”?

Also, could have done without the Bollywood song/dance number in the closing credits – what was that about?

Anonymous

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Wow. Not only was this a great story, it was written & filmed well… and delivered in a wrapper that actually made some sense. Count me among those who believe we don’t know the whole truth about who Shakespeare was. Was this the true story? Part of it? Possibly… Surely, I don’t believe all the details of this particular drama, but I think the premise holds a lot of merit. We hardly know the truth about events that have happened in our lifetime, and we’re supposed to believe that we know the truth about Shakespeare?

I was shocked to realize this was done by none other than Roland Emmerich. Huh?  Now I don’t know what to think of  him. Maybe someone else created the “Worst movie ever” (aka – Independence Day), and Roland Emmerich is a fraud?

Moneyball

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This had some good moments, and a good message about always trying to find the next angle. Ultimately, we do get to see enough of the back story of Billy Beane to make sense out of his character.

But, I would have liked to know more about the Bean Counter (the Jonah Hill character – Peter Brand), he’s the one who really made the system work; Billy Beane just gave him a shot because he was desperate. Who was this kid? Why was he working in the bowels of the Cleveland Indians office? did he have any friends? family? Passions? Feelings? He just kind of stood around like none of that mattered. No knock on Jonah Hill, who I thought did a fine job, but I thought the script really short-changed his character.

The Big Year

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When this came out, I was turned-off by the negative reviews. But, I do have a soft spot for birding, so I figured I’d give it a try… Wow – what a pleasant surprise! I’m not sure what it was the critics didn’t like. The movie had an interesting premise, good acting, a few laughs and a lot of charm. The characters were multidimensional – we got to see them work to balance their love of birding with the loves of their lives, and the movie just had a real good balance and pace. It’s hard to find honest, uplifting movies that aren’t totally sappy. This one delivers.

One other thing I really appreciated; this movie respected the audience. It wasn’t filled with ridiculous gags you don’t believe, and it didn’t resort to making up bird species with silly names.  The humor was thankfully reigned-in by honesty. And the little tidbits of truth thrown-in, like the Snowcocks in the Ruby Mountains (there is an established population of Himalayan Snowcocks only in the Ruby Mountains – and you can bet that any birder looking for species would seek them out), the trip to Atu, and the role the seasons & weather played in the plot… that is what made the movie. I just have to say “thank you” to everyone involved in this for making it right.

The Ides of March

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There were some good moments of acting & dialogue in this one, but there was so much forced plotline eye-rolling preposterousness, it just couldn’t squeeze through my “come on!” filter. Key to the whole thing – one guy meets with his political enemy, and his boss can’t get over it? They only met. And nothing was kept secret. Meeting someone is a sin?  That’s ridiculous… any campaigner who is so petty about stuff like this is surely doomed.

Another thing about movies like this – with made-up politicians… I find it really hard to suspend my disbelief with these movies, because I’m continuously reminded that I’m watching a movie with a bunch of actors. I know the reality of the political situation too well.

The Artist

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Wow. It takes real imagination, dedication, and plain old balls to execute a movie like this. The novelty of the silence could have come off like a gimmick, but instead it was like seeing a painting that makes liberal use of a long lost color to great effect. I figured I would like this, but I was surprised at how much I liked it. Even the main plot line was a bit predictable, but it almost had to be. If it hadn’t been, it would have felt like cheating.

One thing though, I found it interesting that this movie used a lot of modern directorial concepts – just the camera angles, the editing, etc… these things would not have existed at the time of the movie… and I found myself thinking about this too much. But, maybe that’s just me. If it’d been done in a 1920’s style, that would have stuck-out too, so I suppose I’d rather have it as it was.

I wonder what a 1930’s audience would have thought of this.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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I’m not sure why I watch these movies. Well, I do know why… it’s simply for the eye candy – to see what millions of dollars can produce on-screen – a lot of crane shots and special effects. I certainly don’t see them for the acting (flat), writing (maddeningly dumb), editing (frenzied), directing (dull), plot (predictable) or pretty much anything else. Well, the lighting was good… but even that was too good. I mean, I’m sitting here thinking – nobody’s apartment has lighting like that. So, I wasn’t expecting this to be any good (any movie brought to you by Hasbro has a lot of things going against it)… and it wasn’t. But, all the same, it made me chuckle at its silliest moments. And there is a part of me that just likes to see shit get destroyed. The sad thing is, this wasn’t even memorable enough to put in my category of “bad” movies… at least those are so bad they’re memorable. But, this? It’ll just get forgotten like yesterday’s tabloid headline.

Oh, I just remembered I haven’t watched the last 20 minutes yet… I wonder if I can guess what happens?

The Help

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While this movie didn’t break any new ground in tackling the issue of race relations in the US south in the early 1960s… it was still worth watching for the drama and the reminder of what things were like. I did like the fact that nobody really changed their core beliefs about the state of things. Some just found a little courage to speak their minds… that was a much more believable approach to “character development”.

X-Men: First Class

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Well… not bad. If you had to make a movie like this, I don’t think you could do it much better. In-between all the crazy effects & action, there’s some character development, even something to think about. I still don’t quite get why the mutants have special powers. (I mean, if there are going to be mutants, isn’t it more likely they’d feature debilitating gross deformities?) But, without that, there is no movie. So, go for it!

Thor

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I heard this was dumb, but I just had to witness the dumbness for myself. You don’t really need to watch this movie, as it’s so predictable, you can pretty much guess how it goes. Well, I suppose that isn’t entirely true – I was confused by some of the bits… like the feds just let Thor go after he breaks into the compound and beats everyone up? I don’t think that’d be happening… even if they are “following him”. That just seemed like lazy writing. I did appreciate some of the details. The special effects were nice, the bits of background story were fun… and the guy who played Loki did a good job. But taken as a whole, if they spent millions making this, you’d think they could have made it just a little… um, better?

Cashback

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I was expecting this to be a kind of goofy, light-hearted slacker flick. It did have elements of that, but it was quite a bit more. Yes, it was predictable, but only in the way that life in general is predictable, and we don’t complain about that so much, do we? Anyway, the best part of the movie wasn’t the main story arc (the romance… which was the predictable part), rather some of the vignettes, 5-second moments, bits of dialog, and odd-ball characters. There was enough of that stuff to make this worth it.

The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

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What a fantastic window into our past… and amazing to think that this cave was sitting undisturbed for so long… and in such pristine shape today. Herzog manages to stretch out what could be a 30 minute movie to feature length, without making it seem longer than it needs to be. To hear about these caves is one thing, but to see one like this is simply breathtaking – these people lived like this for centuries… enough time that they knew no other past; no other future… just the endless cycles of the seasons and of life.